Ohio State celebrates their sweep of UM (Photo by Ohio State Athletics and the Big Ten Conference)
Ohio State, Kent State, Cincinnati, Xavier, and Miami are rolling into the postseason!
Ohio State 29-23 (18-12 in the Big Ten)
The Buckeyes had a misstep to begin the week. They lost their home finale against Wright State on Tuesday, 8-4. But that game wasn’t indicative of what would happen for either team later on in the week. Ohio State would head up north to Ann Arbor to play UM. OSU beat that team up north decisively with a 13-2 rout on Thursday. Their eight runs in the seventh inning ended the game early, too!
Friday, Ohio State fought for something they hadn’t accomplished this century. For the first time since 1999, the Buckeyes won a series against that team up north in Ann Arbor. The 7-3 win clinched the series, once again emphasizing how far this program has come in two short years. Justin Haire needs a contract extension, and the roster needs more NIL funds!
Ohio State’s bats would continue to be solid, but it would be a Buckeye pitcher who would steal the show on Saturday. Chris Domke would pitch a complete game, strike out six UM batters, allow only one earned run, and only one run total in Ohio State’s 8-1 victory! This gave the Buckeyes their first sweep in Ann Arbor since 1994!
Ohio State will play Washington in the Big Ten tournament this week! The Buckeyes and Huskies played three games to open the Big Ten this season, with Washington winning two of three. It was close, though, as all three games were decided by one run and Washington only had a 19-18 run advantage.
Cincinnati 37-19 (17-13 in the Big 12)
UC took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in their final series of the regular season. The Bearcats were at home in the Queen City. Cincinnati enjoyed all the comforts of home on Thursday in a 13-1 victory in just seven innings. The Bearcats and the Red Raiders would play a doubleheader on Friday, thanks to rainy weather expected in Ohio on Saturday.
The first part of the doubleheader went in Texas Tech’s favor, 6-5, evening the series. The Cats responded, though, in the rubber match. Cincy took the series on Friday night with an 8-7 win, and has some solid momentum going into the Big 12 Tournament. UC will play against Arizona State in a virtual home game for the Sun Devils, with the Big 12 Tournament taking place in Surprise, Arizona.
Xavier 27-28 (15-6 in the Big East)
X had a lot to play for in their homestand finale against Creighton. The Blue Jays downed the Musketeers in the series opener on Thursday. Xavier, however, wouldn’t let the 5-2 defeat keep them down. The X-Men responded on Friday with a hard-fought, 3-2 win to even the series. X finished off Creighton and secured the series victory on Saturday, 5-3.
Taking two of three from Creighton put their Big East record at 15-6. This tied Xavier with St. John’s and UConn for first place in the conference standings. The tie earned Xavier a share of the Big East regular-season championship. The Musketeers will battle UConn in the Big East Tournament on Wednesday. Xavier has the good fortune of the tournament being held at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, in Greater Cincinnati. The X faithful will be there to cheer on their Big East Champions!
Dayton 31-23 (15-15 in the Atlantic 10)
The Flyers opened their week in Mason, Ohio, at Prasco Park against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. While technically a neutral game, Dayton should have still had a home-field advantage. Notre Dame wasn’t having it, though, and they shot down the Flyers, 16-6 in only eight innings. UD was still determined to try to finish their season strong. They needed to sweep George Washington, have Davidson get swept by VCU, and have Rhode Island get swept by league-leading St. Joseph’s.
With some help, they could still make the Atlantic 10 Tournament, but they had to take care of GWU first. They won their opener against George Washington, 9-1 on Thursday. On Friday they won the series and the game, 7-5. Saturday they finished their part with 6-2 win, securing the sweep! They got the help they needed from VCU who swept Davidson. Dayton needed St. Joe’s to sweep Rhode Island, but the Hawks lost one of their three to Rhode Island, 4-3. They needed nine games to go their way, and they painfully only got eight. The Flyers still finish with a respectable winning record, with eight games above .500. Their .500 record in the Atlantic 10 stings, though, as a single more conference loss turned into a win would have gotten them to the postseason. Still, a 30-plus win season is nothing to be ashamed of.
Wright State 25-26 (17-7 in the Horizon League)
This was a whacky week for Wright State. They started the week in Columbus playing a surging Ohio State team and the Raiders pulled off the 8-4 upset of the Buckeyes! It should’ve have been a layup to come home to play 12-38 Youngstown State for the final three games of the regular season. Home is supposed to be where the heart is, but in this series it was where it was broken a little.
WSU was surprised when they lost on Thursday, 5-2, to YSU. They were downright stunned on Friday, losing back-to-back to the Penguins, this time, 8-6. Wright State had to be shocked when a team that started the series with twice as many losses on their record as wins swept them with an 8-2 victory. The good news is that Wright State still won the Horizon League regular season championship again, despite getting swept. They will play this Thursday against the winner of Youngstown State and Oakland. Wright State is a proud baseball program, and rightly so, I think they’ll be wanting to see Youngstown State to try and avenge this sweep.
Youngstown State 15-38 (12-12 in the Horizon League)
As noted above, it was one of the wildest series outcomes of the season when YSU went to Dayton to play Wright State this past weekend. With the Kent State game canceled, the Penguins solely focused on the Raiders. YSU had been in a race to the bottom of the Buckeye State standings with the boys from Athens, but they played like a different team in Dayton.
Youngstown State opened the series with a 5-2 victory on Thursday. It was even more stunning that they took the series on Friday with an 8-6 win. The Penguins completing the sweep on Friday night in the second half of a doubleheader was mind-blowing. The 8-2 win gives YSU a ton of momentum heading into the Horizon League Tournament. They’ll play Oakland on Wednesday, with the winner playing Wright State on Thursday. Despite finishing with a record that saw them a whopping 18 games below .500, YSU finished at .500 in the Horizon League and has some serious momentum heading into Wednesday.
Ohio 11-43 (8-25 in the MAC)
OU had originally been slated to play UM on Tuesday but the MAC reshuffled the schedule and they only played Eastern Michigan this week. The Eagles beat the Bobcats in the first game of the series, 4-0, on Thursday. Friday saw EMU take the series with a 9-4 win. Ohio went out defiantly on Saturday, though. The Bobcats ended the season with a 15-7 win. OU is lucky to have won double-digit games with how poorly this season has gone for them. They’ll be happier than anyone to put 2026 behind them and move on to 2027.
Kent State 40-13 (24-9 in the MAC)
From start to finish this season, the Kent State Golden Flashes have been one of the better baseball teams in Ohio and in all of college baseball. They opened this week looking to keep rolling. On Tuesday, they reshuffled their schedule, and instead of playing Youngstown State, they host UM. Like Miami before them and like Ohio State would later in the week, Kent State beat that team up north. After their 5-3 home finale victory over UM, they went on the road to Toledo.
Kent State, who was in first place, would battle the Rockets, who were in third place. Depending on how they played and how Miami did against Akron, a conference crown was on the line. The Golden Flashes won the opener on Thursday in a close 4-3 contest. Friday saw a repeat of the very same score. Saturday was a slight tumble as Toledo got a 9-6 upset and kept Kent State from a share of the MAC regular season championship. The Golden Flashes are fine, though, and await the outcome of Western Michigan and Northern Illinois on Thursday.
Akron 21-34 (11-22 in the MAC)
There’s no sugar coating it, it was a rough week for the Akron Zips. They lost to Oakland on Tuesday, 13-10. On Thursday, they fell to the Miami RedHawks, 17-6. Friday was only slightly better, losing by 10 instead of 11 in a 13-3 defeat. Finally, the season came to a merciful end on Saturday with a 15-8 loss to Miami. Akron lost 10 of their last 11 games and burned away any hopes they had of playing in the MAC Tournament this year. They gave up 80 runs in their last six games of the season.
Miami (Ohio) 38-15 (25-8 in the MAC)
The RedHawks came into this week hot and with lots to still play for. While they had already clinched a spot in the MAC Baseball Tournament, they were still battling for top seeding and a regular-season conference championship. They had to head up to Akron for their final MAC series of the season against the Zips. Miami’s bats were all over Akron’s pitchers in this series, and they won the opening game 17-6.
Miami kept making it rain on Friday. The RedHawks won game two, 13-3 in only eight innings to clinch the series. Saturday’s game had everything riding on it. Miami came away with a 15-8 victory. Add that in with Kent State’s loss to Toledo, and the RedHawks were in sole possession of first place and are your 2026 MAC Champions! Miami, as the #1 seed in the MAC Championship Tournament, will play the winner of Toledo and Ball State on Thursday in Cleveland.
Toledo 29-27 (22-12 in the MAC)
The Rockets have had a great season, even if this week wasn’t their best. It got off to a good start when they beat their rival Bowling Green by 10, 15-5. Toledo beat them at Fifth Third Field in downtown at the home of the Mud Hens. The Rockets then hosted one of only two teams in the MAC with a better record than they have this year, the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Thursday’s game was a tight contest that saw Toledo fall by a single run, 4-3. Friday was a repeat of the same song that saw the Rockets fall again, 4-3. Saturday saw Toledo fight to avoid being swept. This time, the Rockets were victorious, downing Kent State, 9-6. Toledo will play Ball State in the MAC Tournament on Wednesday in Avon, Ohio, near Cleveland.
Bowling Green 19-35 (12-22 in the MAC)
BGSU’s season came to a merciful end this week. The Falcons struggled this year, especially down the stretch, losing 11 of their final 14 games. The week got off to a bad start as they lost to crosstown rival Toledo at Fifth Third Field downtown. The Rockets beat Bowling Green, 15-5. The Falcons then went on the road to Muncie, Indiana, to play Ball State. Ball State won the opening game on Thursday, 6-3. They clinched the series with a 6-5 win on Friday. On Saturday, Bowling Green couldn’t avoid the sweep and lost 10-2. Finishing 10th in the MAC Standings made this the final game of the 2026 for Bowling Green.
Ohio Power Rankings
- Miami (Ohio) 38-15 (25-8 in the MAC)
- Kent State 40-13 (24-9 in the MAC)
- Ohio State 29-23 (18-12 in the Big Ten)
- Cincinnati 37-19 (17-13 in the Big 12)
- Xavier 27-28 (15-6 in the Big East)
- Toledo 29-27 (22-12 in the MAC)
- Wright State 25-26 (17-7 in the Horizon League)
- Youngstown State 15-38 (12-12 in the Horizon League)
- Dayton 31-23 (15-15 in the Atlantic 10)
- Akron 21-34 (11-22 in the MAC)
- Bowling Green 19-35 (12-22 in the MAC)
- Ohio 11-43 (8-25 in the MAC)
Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week
With Ohio State’s historic performance against that team up north, I had to go with Buckeye first baseman Dane Harvey. Harvey had seven hits this week for the Buckeyes. He knocked in four runs and hit three homers as Ohio State swept that team up north! OSU won 16 more games this year than in 2025, and players like Dane Harvey are why!
